Romania probes Philips and 10 distributors over hospital equipment tenders

Unannounced inspections target Philips network

Romania’s Competition Council has carried out unannounced inspections at Philips Romania and 10 distributors or resellers active in ultrasound equipment and patient-monitoring devices used by hospitals and clinics. The authority is investigating a possible anticompetitive agreement or concerted practice involving the allocation of the market within procurement procedures for this equipment.

The inspected companies are Medical Device Store SRL, Papapostolou SRL, Dacorum Grup SRL, ABB Medtec SRL, ABB Neopuls SRL, Med Tehnica SRL, Minimed Solutions SRL, Esmed Group SRL, Pharmics SRL and Almed Investments SRL. Forbes Romania reported that the investigation also covers Philips Medical Systems Nederland BV, the Netherlands-based parent company. The inspections were authorized by the Bucharest Court of Appeal.

Authority examines conduct dating from 2020

According to the Competition Council, the investigated companies may have coordinated their commercial policies in public procurement procedures since at least 2020. The suspected conduct involved manipulating the award of contracts for ultrasound systems and patient-monitoring devices, with the alleged aim of removing competition among Philips distributors and between the distributors and Philips Romania.

Such coordination could reduce the number of genuinely competing bids and weaken pressure on prices paid by hospitals and clinics. That makes the inquiry relevant not only to equipment suppliers but also to public healthcare budgets and procurement officials. The investigation concerns the tender process and distribution arrangements; the available source material does not identify the value or number of affected contracts, or quantify any potential effect on equipment prices.

Fines could reach 10% of turnover

If the authority ultimately establishes an infringement of competition rules, the companies involved could be fined up to 10% of turnover. Businesses that cooperate through the leniency program may receive immunity or substantial reductions in penalties. The Competition Council stressed that the inspections are an evidence-gathering measure and do not constitute a finding that the companies are guilty.

The distinction is important for hospital buyers and competing medical-device suppliers. The investigation may expose how manufacturers, national subsidiaries and authorized resellers managed participation in individual tenders, but the inspections alone do not establish that bids were coordinated. Procurement bodies may nevertheless review supplier participation, tender specifications and pricing patterns while the authority examines documents gathered during the searches.

Philips faces another Romanian competition test

Forbes Romania noted that Philips Romania previously challenged a competition fine connected with the electro-IT sector. In 2019, the company definitively lost its case against a sanction imposed in 2014, when the Competition Council fined 14 companies a combined 56.5 million lei for anticompetitive agreements in buy-back campaigns. The current investigation concerns a different market and separate alleged conduct.

The inquiry also arrives after a difficult period for the wider Philips group. Forbes Romania reported that litigation linked to recalled DreamStation sleep-apnea devices resulted in a $1.1 billion settlement of US claims in April 2025. The publication also said Philips reported a profit of €897 million for 2025, its first profitable year after three consecutive years of losses. For its Romanian medical-equipment business, the immediate issue is now whether the authority finds evidence that distribution arrangements crossed the line from channel management into prohibited coordination of hospital tenders.